Process and apparatus for handling elastic filaments



y 1940- F. J. Tos'lAs 2.199.550

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ELASTIC FILAMENTS Filed Aug. 14, 1937 INVENTOR BY 6?: J 7mm:

ORNEYS Patented May 7, 1940 UNITED STATE tion of New Jersey PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ELASTIC FILAMENTS Fred J. Tobias, Trenton,

Filatex Corporation, Trentom N. J., a corpora- REil-SSUE N. J., assignor to Application August 14, 1937, Serial No. 159,051

10 Claims.

The invention relates in general to the handling of elastic filamentary bodies and in particular to a process of rewinding covered and uncovered elastic rubber yarns and threads and to correlated improvements designed to enhance the properties and usefulness of such yarns and threads.

In the heretofore practiced methods of manufacturing and handling packages of rubber like elastic filamentary bodies such as bare rubber filaments and filaments in the form of covered elastic yarns, non-uniformity in tension throughout a given length of such filamentary bodies has invariably resulted. Such non-uniformity of tension of the packages has given rise to many serious dlmculties both in the covering of rubber filaments and in the fabrication of various structures from the resultant covered yarns. In the process of producing elastic yarns comprising a rubber core and acovering of textile thread, the rubber core is usually passed through the covering machine in a stretched condition, the degree of stretch being initially adjusted before starting of the machine. Due to the non-uniis automatically varied, thus yielding a non-uniform covered elastic yarn.

In the winding and rewinding of covered This non-uniformity in tension within the yarn package gave rise to serious difliculties in knitting and weaving operations as the structure produced was characterized by having portions under greater tension than other portions which tended to yield a wavy fabric which would not lie fiat.

In the winding up and rewinding of covered elastic yarns, it has been customary to wind the ,yarn into a package on a revolving supporting was core such, for example, as a spool, cop, cone, bottle or the like, by withdrawing the yarn over one end of a supply spool, cop, bottle or the like,

60 held in a stationary position. During such a re- II is known in the art as an on-balanced yarn,

form tension in the rubber filaments introduced into the covering machine, the degree of stretch the condition of which does not change during subsequent rewinding 0 .l'ations. "In the weav ing and knitting of fabricsi ofl balanced elastic yarns have proved to be useless as the kinks and knots which develop in the yarn catch in the knitting needles or shuttles causing breaks and producing unsightly spots in the fabric.

The general object of the invention is to obviate the foregoing and other disadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process for producing a yarn package in which the yarn is balanced and under substantially uni-, form longitudinal tension.

A specific object is to provide a process whereby the .tension in a rubber filament is continuously equalized as it is introduced into a yarn package.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a process and an apparatus for eliminating the usual "off-balance developed in a covered elastic yarn during rewinding.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

According to the invention, a balanced elastic yarn package is produced by continuously unwinding an elastic yarn from a yarn package in which the yarn is wound under more or less tension, relaxing the yarn and rewinding the relaxed yarn undera uniform tension into a second yarn package. The expression yarn as used in the specification andclaims is intended to include one or more filaments, strands, threads and like filamentary bodies. The invention accordingly comprises the several steps an'dthe relation of one or more of such steps with respect to eaclrof the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which are adapted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and-the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.-

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken, in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which! Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view inside'elevation of one embodiment of the apparatus of the invention; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating another embodiment of the apparatus of the invention; and v Fig. 3 shows in an enlarged top view, the drawing mllers shown in Fig. 1.

DEC 2 1941 In order to produce a package of balanced yarn, according to the invention as depicted in Fig. 1, a swift l0 carrying the yarn I! in the form of a package, is rotatably mounted upon a suitable support and provided with a braking means It. The yarn is withdrawn from the package winding and advanced by suitable means such as cooperating drawing rollers il-ll and finally formed into a second yarn package by winding upon a core l5, such as a cop, bottle, cone,'bobbin or the like.

I! is maintained in a freely hanging loop l6 during the rewinding process. The yarn in the loop is in a completely relaxed condition thus permitting the tension in the yarn to be equalized while eliminating any tendency of the yarn to twist. Since the rotating speed of the cop l5 normally remains constant, the size of the loop it tends to decrease due to the gradual increase in the diameter of the second yarn package during rewinding. This effect may be prevented by employing for the withdrawing means a pair of conical rollers provided with a cooperating guide II which is caused during operation to move the thread from the small end to the large end of the drawing rollers, thus gradually increasing the feeding speed of the yarn to compensate for the increased rewinding rate. With this latter arrangement it is obvious that the drawing and winding speeds may be correlated to maintain the size of the loop l6 substantially constant or within certain suitable limits during operation. The traverse means i8 may be provided with suitable guide means IQ for delivering the yarn to the core IS, the tensioning device' being employed to restrict the advance of the yarn and thereby control the winding tension.

One of the unwinding rollers Ill4 and the rewind-support for the core i5 may be mounted upon the same shaft A and thus be driven by a common drive wheel D. Preferably the unwind ing and rewinding means. are mounted upon separate shafts and are independently driven but it is to be understood that the unwinding and rewinding means are in simultaneous operation and co-function to produce the balanced yarn package of the invention.

Another embodiment of the apparatus of the invention is shown in Fig. 2 wherein a yarn package on a support, for example, in the form of a bobbin, oop or spool It provided with braking means I3 is rotatably mounted so that the yarn l2 may be withdrawn therefrom by means of cooperating drawing rollers I4'H'. The yarn I2 is delivered in a relaxed state to a receptacle II which is preferably in the form of a tapering tube. The yarn is caused to fall freely within the receptacleto form a plurality of folds or loops 22. The relaxed yarn is withdrawn from the other end of the tube around a guide rod or roller 23 and formed into a yarn package by winding upon a core I5 such, for example, as a cop, spool, bottle or the like having a suitable guide means It cooperating therewith.

The uniform tension under which the yarn is wound upon the core 15 may be controlled by a suitable guiding or tensioning means I!) mounted on the guide means and/or by tensioning means 20. The drawing rollers I 4'--I4 may be of the type shown in Fig. 3, or they may be cylindrical, in which case suitable means (not shown) of known design may be provided tovgradually increase their peripheral speed during' operation to Between the. with-. drawing means and the second package the yarn compensate for the increased rate of rewinding. Alternatively a sufiicient supply of yarn may be maintained in the receptacle 2| to compensate for the differences in the rates of feeding and winding.

In Fig. 3 there is'shown a top view of a pair of conical drawing rollers lt- -l4 which are Journaled at their small ends in a double bearing 24. At their large ends, the rollers ll-ll are provided with bevel gears 2525. which intermesh with each other, one of which may be driven by suitable means (not shown).

While the invention has been described broadly with respect to the rewinding of a yarn package, it is within the purview of -the invention to carry out a suitable operation between the first and the invention have been shown, it is contemplated to provide apparatus composed of a plurality of. units disposed adjacent one another whereby the various operating elements may derive their motive power from a common source.

The elastic yarn in the package obtained by the winding process of the invention is characterized by being substantially completely balanced throughout its length as to tension and twist and is therefore admirably suited for direct use in the fabrication of textile material without the necessity of rewinding, balancing or otherwise conditioning the yarn.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim;

1. A process of rewinding rubber-like elastic yarn which comprisesunwinding a tensioned rubber-like elastic yarn from a package thereof, delivering the yarn to a receptacle in which it is permitted to assume a relaxed state, withdrawing the yarn and rewinding the relaxed yarn under a uniform tension to form a package of balanced yarn.

2. A process of rewinding rubber-like elastic yarn which comprises continuously unwinding a tensioned rubber-like elastic yarn from a package thereof, delivering the yarn to one end of a receptacle in which it is permitted to assume a relaxed state, continuously withdrawing yarn from the opposite end of the receptacle and rewinding the relaxed yarn under uniform tension.

3. Apparatus for handling covered rubber-like elastic yarn which comprises positively driven means for continuously unwinding tensioned elastic yarn from a package thereof, means for winding the yarn into a package, means for maintaining a freely suspended loop of yarn between the packages and means for correlating the speed of the unwinding and winding means to maintain the size of the loop within predetermined limits during operation of the apparatus.

4. Apparatus for handling covered rubber-like elastic yarn which comprises, in combination a receptacle, means for unwinding tensioned elastic yarn from a package and for continuously delivering the yarn to the receptacle in which it is permitted to assume a relaxed state, means for continuously withdrawing the yarn from the receptacle and for winding it into a package of substantially uniformly tensioned yarn.

5. A method of winding a rubber-like elastic filamentary body in final package form, which consists in unwinding the elastic filamentary body under tension from a previously formed package, maintaining a zone of said elastic filamentary body between said previously formed package and the final package and also continuously maintaining said elastic filamentary body in said zone under a tension which is less than the tension under which said elastic filamentary body is withdrawn from said previously formed package, and continuously feeding said elastic filamentary body from said zone to said final package under tension, said tension exceeding the tension of said elastic filamentary body in said zone.

6. A process of handling rubber-like elastic filaments which comprises removing a tensioned rubber-like elastic filament from its support, passing the filament so removed through a zone in which it is permitted to assume a substantially relaxed condition, passing the filament from said zone and subjecting it to a tensioning operation, and winding the filament while under tension.

7. A process of handling rubber-like elastic filaments which comprises removing a tensioned rubber-like elastic filament from its support, passing the filament so removed through a zone in which it is permitted to assume a substantially relaxed condition, passing the filament from said zone and subjecting it to a tensioning operation, applying a covering to the filament while under tension, and winding the covered filament.

8. An apparatus for handling rubber-like elastic filaments comprising means for supporting a winding of tensioned rubber-like elastic filament, positively driven means for removing the filament from the winding, means for rewinding the filament, and means for restricting the advance of the filament to the rewinding means so as to substantially uniformly tension the filament during rewinding, the speed of operation of the means for removing the filament from the winding and the speed of operation of the rewinding 'means being so correlated as to form a suspended loop in which the filament exists in a substantially relaxed condition ahead of the means for restricting the advance of the filament.

9. An apparatus for handling rubber-like elastic filamentst gomprising means for supporting a winding of tensioned rubber-like elastic filament, positively driven means for removing the filament from the winding, means for tensioning and advancing the filament, the speeds of operation of the means for removing the filament from the winding and the means for tensioning and advancing the filament being so correlated that a freely suspended loop, in which the filament exists in a substantially relaxed condition, is maintained in advance of the filament tensioning means, and means for applying a covering to the filament while it is maintained under tension.

10. A process for handling rubber-like elastic filaments which comprises removing a tensioned rubber-like elastic filament from its support, passing the filament so removed through a zone in which it is permitted to assume a substantially relaxed condition, passing the filament from said zone in a substantially uniform state of tension, and winding the filament while so tensioned.

FRED J. TOBIAS. 

